The Day Spam Musubi Saved Our Lives

It's a widely known fact that Spam (aka Hawaiian Steak) is an extremely popular pork product in Hawaii.  End-displays at local grocery stores pay homage to the spiced canned ham, you can get it on a platter from McDonalds for breakfast, and as it turns out, it can also save your life!  Let me explain:

9:00 - The fridge is empty save for a few hard boiled eggs, and some salsa.  We need breakfast!
9:30 - Come across spam musibi at an ABC store in South Kihei.  Interest piqued.
9:45 - Spam musubi is delicious.  Should have picked up two of them.
10:00 - Arrive at Kamaole 3 Beach with intentions to hop into the water for some snorkeling.
10:01 - Warning sirens, followed by instructions from lifegaurds to vacate the water...

As it turns out, there was a shark attack very close to the area we were planning on snorkeling.  Thank goodness we stopped for some spam sushi before hitting the beach.

Lifesaving Spam

Spending time by the non shark infested pool water

Tomorrow marks 1 month of travel (already!?), which means it is time to move on from Maui to Thailand.  I will miss the easy pace of life here, but new adventures await!  Next stop, Bangkok.

Liz

Flippers Were Made for Romance

It had been close to 20 years since my last boat trip out to Molokini.  Even putting aside the wistfulness of youthful memories it wasn't exactly what I remembered.  For one, the crew no longer stands on the bow of the boat to toss handfuls of breadcrumbs into the water.  There were still plenty of fish, but I remember thinking last time that it might not be possible to swim properly through that well-fed frenzy.  The sheer amount of marketing for the Molokini tour didn't register last time, either (probably because I didn't have to pay).  We weren't up for a timeshare presentation but Boss Frog made us feel like really smart shoppers by offering us the same $30 discount that they give to everyone who comes through for a $1.50/day snorkel set rental.  The cake and pineapple slices for breakfast, however, were exactly how I remembered.

Molokini Crater is evidence of immense past violence, and looks like it just as easily could have been caused by a meteoric impact as a volcanic vent.  The visibility in the water is unreal, hampered mainly by the volume of tourists bobbing around the inner reef.  The side effect of this clarity is that it ruins any future snorkeling you might try, including the stop at "Turtle Town" later in the morning's trip.  Turtle Town is actually more of a marketing conceit than a specific location, on this particular day it was offshore of Wailea Beach.  Turtles - check.  Whale tail - check.  Sandwich - check. Tip jar - check.  Tour over!

Alas, the S.S. Frogman II was not the fastest nor the first ship to reach yon crater.

A friendly cop from Sherwood Park was fortunately available for portraits.

The view from Gannon's.

Surfin' USA

"Surf's up, brah"

Armed with knowledge from a YouTube video entitled 'how to surf' watched that morning, we set out for Launiupoko beach park with two soft top long boards and our friends Laura and Ryan (huge congratulations on your engagement guys!).  While we didn't 'hang 10', we all managed to catch a few waves.  I don't want to brag or anything, but they were at least 1 footers!

A tenuous first catch.

Laura slayin' it

After all of the less than graceful dismounts we could handle, and board rash on too many body parts to mention, Dave and I met up with his cousin Katie and aunt Connie while they were on a layover.  We gawked at the surfers off Ho'okipa beach - oh, so that's what surfing looks like...and enjoyed a Maui sunset in Paia.

Shaka!  

Liz

American Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving in 'Merica.  To celebrate, we decided to go all out for Turkey Day...

Sorry Scotty, the HungryMan prices were through the roof!

Maui Blush

Maui Blush (n) - A term used by Maui residents to politely mock tourists with sunburns.

Due to some Maui Blush after a bit too much sun in Ka'anapali yesterday, we were even thankful for the little bit of cloud in Kihei today.

D&L

House of the Sun

The last time I took the Skyline-Mamane Route down Haleakalā the big volcano didn't live up to it's name: The House of the Sun (not to be confused with the Animals song) was actually a house of fog and I had about 20 feet of visibility at the top and temperatures in the 8°C range.  Had Liz been on this previous trip she may not have agreed with me that this merely added to the texture of the adventure.  Fortunately for her, this latest run included weather which was as good as it gets at 10,023 feet.

We rented an Enduro and a Remedy with some lava-resistant rubber at Crater Cycles, and caught a ride up the mountain with Doug, who was recommended as a shuttle driver but turned out to be a full-on Guide of Hawaii, and could have easily continued sharing interesting facts about Maui and the volcano after the hour ride up was over.  "I usually like to have one short break for questions on tours of this length.  And that was it, did you notice?"  We really enjoyed his tour and sense of humour during the shuttle ride, and need to give him credit for taking a few shots of us at the top as well.

With the benefit of visibility, the ride down turned out to be incredibly scenic.  Moonscape turned to scrub then forest then pasture as the trail descended almost 7,000 feet.  The singletrack was dusty and reminded me of Kamloops in the summer.  Some rain would do wonders - after we leave the island, of course!  The flow was interrupted at one point by a wild pig that blasted through the dry underbrush right in front of my bike.  I wondered if he realized how close he was to being turned into a spam sandwich?

The Road to Haha

Aloha!  We're still soaking up the sun and swimming with the turtles nearly every day.  We have strayed from the beach periodically.  One of those adventures included a trip to Hana along the famed "Road to Hana".

The tourist brochures will tell you that "the Road to Hana" is a 52 mile stretch of highway that includes 59 bridges (46 of them being 1 lane width) and 620 curves.  What the brochures neglect to tell you is that many of the curves are actually harrowing hairpin turns with oncoming fuel trucks (gas price in Hana ~$6.50/gal)...and that the road will cause the trunk of your car to spontaneously open no less than 18 times.

The drive was truly scenic, with waterfalls, rainforests, shacks selling homemade banana bread and colorful fruit stands full of tropical fruit along the way.  Photos can't do it justice!

Rainbow Eucalyptus 

I Smell Panda Bears (bamboo forest)

Hamoa Beach 

Yours Truly 

Fresh Passionfruit! 

Stay tuned for the next adventure - mountain biking down a Volcano!

Liz

Kahili

Kahili golf course near Wailuku is isthmusically located in central Maui with views of the wind turbine farm to the west and the windsurfing/kitesurfing bay to the east.  The West Maui mountains to the north define challenging contours and spooky mountain clouds on this 18-hole track.  These contours must be thoroughly ignored while putting; all putts break to Maalaea harbour.

I don't think they mention the wind turbines or use the word  'spooky' in the  brochures.

Haleakala from #4.

My Uncle Jay was kind enough to take me for a round on Tuesday morning.  The heat hadn't crept up too far by our 7:00AM tee-time and we were armed with free coffees and a 15-pack of Pinnacles.  I actually drank my coffee, but managed to spill most of Jay's on his sock while spinning the cart tires on the wet grass.  Things were making some sense, golf-wise, on the front nine and we were playing at a brisk Hawaiian pace.  (I'm not sure what the rationale is for golfing so quickly in Hawaii, maybe to get back to the beach sooner?)

Whilst our hats were still attached.

Cue the wind.  Megawatts.  Little sails.  300-yard drives going west, 150-yard drives going east.  80-yard eight irons.  Putts still breaking hard toward Maalaea harbour.  On about hole 12 Jay said "I think we're going to need to stop for more balls."  Which we didn't, but it seemed like it was touch and go for a few holes.  Despite the ball- and hat-chasing on the back nine, it was good to swing the clubs again.  Maybe not the kind of game that makes me want to play another round in the afternoon, but not the kind of game that makes me want to give it up, either.  Let's hope for cheap green fees in Thailand!

Kihei Cruiser

How to make money on Maui:

1. Buy $500 car.
2. Rent $500 car for $500/month.
3. Repeat.
4. Profit!

Lets just say Casey is a pretty sweet ride. We're talking 24 MPG. City. Just don't leave anything important in the trunk!

From the farcical walk around at pickup ("Yeah, so I guess people aren't respecting the bumper") to the incredible rattling noises when the fan is set above 2, it has been nothing short of a love affair.

Oh yes, my cell phone will remain charged at all times.  Parallel park near us at your own peril.

Dave

Goats and Tequila

Aloha from Maui! We made it to this beautiful tropical paradise without incident, have secured a 'Maui Cruiser' (more on that later) and have settled in to our small but cute home for the next 3 weeks.

Maui is truly paradise. It's a perfect 82 to 85 degrees here most days, the sun shines constantly and the beaches are abundant. The booze is cheap although everything else is priced like we are still in Canada. We have begun going through Maui Revealed's top 15 beaches, finding some nudists and a herd of goats in the process! Needless to say, the goats were a tad more enjoyable to look at than the nudists...just saying.

Gaining three hours on the flight here enabled us to easily manage a good spot in the lineup for Costco's opening, where we were able to procure ample supplies of tequila, macadamia nut filled chocolate and chicken for the trip. We were lucky not to lose any of that precious cargo out of Casey (our sweet rental car) when the trunk spontaneously opened while driving down the Piilani highway!

Casey is a late 90's Nissan Sentra. She lacks paint on the roof, bumpers, and doors. She doesn't like it when you run the AC, but she is very comfortable and doesn't mind if you get sand on her floor! We picked up the car from a guy that my parents know through windsurfing. The pick up process mirrored hollywood style drug exchanges...it's normal to exchange cash for vehicles in dark parking lots right?

We are still getting our 'go to the beach routine' down. Yesterday we checked out Kamaole 1,2 and 3. After walking along them, Dave pulled out what he thought was a water bottle from his bag. Turns out it was a bottle of vinegar...fail! We did much better today, managing not to cause Dave's uncle Jay and aunt Connie (who are here escaping all that snow at home as well) to question our ability to care for ourselves! More beaches to come, for now it's time to enjoy the warm evening on the lanai.

Liz

Maui Sunset

Big Beach

Not something you'd expect to see! (No pictures of the nude beach, sorry)

Like we said, enough tequila for our entire trip!

Lens Flare

Look as hard as you'd like, a cloud can be a hard find in the Arizona sky.  The associated and excellent weather notwithstanding, this condition makes for a convenient photographic backdrop.  

Saguaro in Scottsdale.

Carefree, Arizona humidifier.

Actually a short-tailed lizard.

But there are other things to do in Arizona apart from pointing the camera at the sun and hoping for a great photo.  Things like geological/architectural appreciation.  'Precarious' doesn't begin to describe the homes built amongst the boulders on Stagecoach Road in Carefree.

Architectural insight: "Do what you want with the rest of the house, as long as you put that 200-ton boulder in my living room."

The Arizona weather also makes patio furniture a big part of life.  As in shops devoted to nothing but.  As in outdoor TV sets and hoping that a nap during Sunday's football game doesn't net a massive sunburn.  Assembly of said furniture can also be a great way to pass the time.  Think IKEA with bad welding instead of particle-board and an imperial/metric disconnect with the little allen wrenches.  "I'm going to need a good ratchet set with hex adapters...or beer."

Sweet welds, bro.

Margarita Monday!

Liz's take on 13.1 miles

13.1 miles.  It doesn't sound that bad.  And actually, now that it's over, it's not!

Mile 1: Wow, that went by quickly!

Mile 3: That's the only uphill, right?

Mile 5: I wonder if I could jump in to that canal to cool off? 

Mile 7: How far have we gone? What the heck do these miles mean in Kms anyway?

Mile 9: Whooo, there is the finish line...no wait, we're running past the finish line :( 

Mile 11: I thought this was a flat course, what is with all these hills? 

Mile 13: There's Dave and Molly with the camera, better smile! 

It was the perfect morning for a run...there was a small moment of panic when the watch to which I have become so accustomed to looking at every 45 seconds wouldn' t turn on. Luckily I found aunt  Carol amongst the sea of neon right before crossing the start line.  Together we ran the 13.1 miles without stopping or walking! 

I owe a huge thank you to Dave for running with me on most of my long training runs (even when he could have been biking), thanks to Mom and Dad for following me on their bikes while I ran in Canmore, and thanks to Molly for getting up at 5 to get us to the start in time! 

The light is so nice because it's early! 

Post run brunch with Grandma and Grandpa

Liz 

2:04:03

Big props must go out to Liz for finishing her first half marathon today!  Despite a very early morning to get to the Scottsdale startline and a last minute glitch with her GPS watch, she remained unphased and finished faster than she had expected.  Liz ran with her Aunt Carol until the very end of the race, which made my 'casual paparazzi' job for the day all that much easier.  I'm trying to recall the original smore-talk and who else was supposedly on the hook for the running, but for Liz and Carol at least, the real vacation begins now!

Mile 13.0: Still smiling!

Post-race in the Tempe heat.

Every Day Is A Saturday

Dave and I made it to Phoenix after narrowly missing our flight out of Edmonton yesterday afternoon. The combination of an early winter snow storm, an overbooked Air Canada flight and less than enthusiastic airline staff made for a near VO2 max sprint through the international terminal at YEG! But don't worry, we made it just in time to sit on the plane as it waited in line for an hour to be de-iced. Phew!

Phoenix is hot, dry and most importantly void of snow.  While Dave, Trevor and Molly golfed today, I played caddie to 'rest up for the 1/2 marathon' (okay, maybe it was to avoid the embarrassment of swinging those golf sticks 8 times in a row without actually hitting the ball). Either way, it was a great way to look cute in my plaid golfing skirt.

It's a strange feeling knowing that for the next 4-6 months we won't be relying on the comfort of routine, whether it be making coffee in the morning, making a mad dash out of the house to get to work 10 minutes late (how does that happen everyday!?) or making the same pasta sauce for dinner every Monday. It's as if every day is a Saturday...I love Saturdays!

Molly and David

Buddies!

Molly, Dave and Trevor on the Trilogy-Vistancia course.

The Title

"Can you draw a gerbil?"

I had to stop and think about Liz's comment on my latest blog title suggestion.  "When I worked at Sea-Fur I drafted a gerbil liquefaction system to attach to their hydraulic testing rig.  I can't remember if I drew the gerbil or not.  I think this means I'm qualified."

Earlier, I had come up with 'Untether the Dirigible' as The Title for our travel blog.  Admittedly, I may have been slightly over-caffeinated, but based on her first response I had to guess that Liz thought I was making up words.  Judging by the red dotted line under 'untether', I think Firefox might agree with her.

"Hmmm...I'm picturing a gerbil whose broken free from it's leash?"  Her first impression.  A skeptical question mark?

"A dirigible is a blimp, as in an antiquated mode of transport.  Although a cartoon gerbil piloting a mini blimp would be adorable as a mascot!"

That's how it happened.  I assure you we're not secretly Decemberist fanatics or hot air balloon aficionados.  So...does anyone actually know how to draw a gerbil?

Dave